Abstract
After drainage of natural boreal peatlands, the decomposition of organic matter increases and peat soil may turn into a net source of CO2 and N2O, whereas CH4 emission is known to decrease. Afforestation is a potential mitigation strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emission from organic agricultural soils. A static chamber technique was used to evaluate the fluxes of CH4, N2O and CO2 from three boreal organic agricultural soils in western Finland, afforested 1, 6 or 23 years before this study. The mean emissions of CH4 and N2O during the growing seasons did not correlate with the age of the tree stand. All sites were sources of N2O. The highest daily N2O emission during the growing season, measured in the oldest site, was as high as 29 mg N2O m−2d−1. In general, organic agricultural soils are sinks for methane. Here, the oldest site acted as a small sink for methane, whereas the two youngest afforested organic soils were sources for methane with maximum emission rates (up to 154 mg m−2d−1) similar to those reported for minerogenous natural peatlands. Soil respiration rates decreased with the age of the forest. The high soil respiration in the younger sites, probably resulted from the high biomass production of herbs, could create soil anaerobiosis and increase methane production. Our results show that afforestation of agricultural peat soils does not abruptly terminate the N2O emissions during the first two decades, and afforestation can even enhance methane emission for a few years. The carbon accumulation in the developing tree stand can partly compensate the carbon loss from soil.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Crill PM, Martikainen P J, Nykänen H and Silvola J 1994 Temperature and N fertilization effects on methane oxidation in a drained peatland soil. Soil Biol. Biochem. 26, 1331–1339.
Finnish Meteorological Institute 1991 Climatological statistics in Finland 1961-1990. Supplement to the Meteorological Yearbook of Finland, vol. 90. Valtion painatuskeskus, Helsinki. 125 p.
Glenn S, Heyes A and Moore T 1993 Carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from drained peat soils, southern Quebec. Glob. Biogeochem. Cyc. 7, 247–257.
Gorham E 1991 Northern peatlands: Role in the carbon cycle and probable responses to climatic warming. Ecol. Appl. 2, 182–195.
Halonen O, Tulkki H and Derome J 1983 Nutrient analysis methods. Metsäntutkimuslaitoksen tiedonantoja 121. 28 p.
Hytönen J and Ekola E 1993 Maan ja puuston ravinnetila Keski-Pohjanmaan metsitetyillä pelloilla. Summary: Soil nutrient regime and tree nutrition on afforested fields in central Ostrobothnia, western Finland. Folia Forestalia 822. 32 pp.
Hytönen J 1999 Pellonmetsityksen onnistuminen Keski-Pohjanmaalla. Metsätieteen aikakauskirja 4/1999, 697–710 (in Finnish).
Kasimir-Klemedtsson Å, Klemdtsson L, Berglund K, Martikainen P J, Silvola J and Oenema O 1997 Greenhouse gas emissions from farmed organic soils: A review. Soil Use Manage. 13, 245–250.
Kauppi P E, Tomppo E and Ferm A 1995 C and N storage in living trees within Finland since 1950s. Plant Soil 168-169, 633–638.
Koizumi H, Kontturi M, Mariko S, Nakadai T, Bekku Y and Mela T 1999 Soil respiration in three soil types in agricultural ecosystems in Finland. Acta Agric. Scandinavica, Section B, Soil Plant Sci. 49, 65–74.
Kutilek M and Nielsen D R 1994 Soil Hydrology. GeoEcology textbook. Catena Verlag, Cremlingen-Destedt, Germany. 380 pp.
Martikainen P J, Nykänen H, Crill P and Silvola J 1993 Effect of a lowered water table on nitrous oxide fluxes from northern peatlands. Nature 366, 51–53.
Martikainen P J, Nykänen H, Alm J and Silvola J 1995 Change in fluxes of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide due to forest drainage of mire sites of different trophy. Plant Soil 168-169, 571–577.
Martikainen P J 1996 Microbial Processes in Boreal Forest Soils as Affected by Forest Management Practices and Atmospheric Stress. In Soil Biochemistry. Ed. G Stotzky and J-M Bollag. pp 195–232. Marcel Dekker Inc., New York.
Mikola M 1955 Experiments on the rate of decomposition of forest litter. Communicationes Instituti Forestalis Fenniae 43. 50p.
Minkkinen K and Laine J 1998 Long-term effect of forest drainage on the peat carbon stores of pine mires in Finland. Can. J. For. Res. 28, 1267–1275.
Myllys M 1996 Agriculture on peatlands. In Peatlands in Finland. Ed. H. Vasander. pp 64–71. Finnish Peatland Society, Helsinki.
Nykänen H, Alm J, Lång K, Silvola J and Martikainen P J 1995 Emissions of CH4, N2O and CO2 from a virgin fen and a fen drained for grassland in Finland. J. Biogeogr. 22, 351–357.
Nykänen H, Alm J, Silvola J, Tolonen K and Martikainen P J 1998 Methane fluxes on boreal peatlands of different fertility and the effect of long term experimental lowering of the water table on flux rates. Glob. Biogeochem. Cyc. 12, 53–69.
Nyyssönen A and Mielikäinen K 1978 Metsikön kasvun arviointi. Summary: Estimation of stand increment. Acta For. Fenn. 163. 40 p.
Priemé A, Christensen S, Dobbie K E and Smith K 1997 Slow increase in rate of methane oxidation in soils with time following land use change from arable agriculture to woodland. Soil Biol. Biochem. 29, 1269–1273.
Priha O, Grayston S J, Pennanen T and Smolander A 1999 Microbial activities related to C and N cycling, and microbial community structure in the rhizospheres of Pinus sylvestris, Picea abies and Betula pendula. FEMS Microbial. Ecol. 30, 187–199
Regina K, Nykänen H, Silvola J and Martikainen P J 1996 Fluxes of nitrous oxide from boreal peatlands as affected by peatland type, water table level and nitrification capacity. Biogeochemistry 35, 401–418.
Regina K, Nykänen H, Maljanen M, Silvola J and Martikainen P J 1998 Emissions of N2O and NO and net nitrogen mineralization in boreal forested peatlands treated with different nitrogen compounds. Can. J. For. Res. 28, 132–140.
Regina K, Silvola J and Martikainen P J 1999 Short-term effects of changing water table on N2O fluxes from peat monoliths from virgin and drained boreal peatlands. Glob. Chan. Biol. 5, 183–189.
Thomas K L, Benstead J, Davies K L and Lloyd D 1996 Role of wetland plants in the diurnal control of CH4 and CO2 fluxes in peat. Soil Biol. Biochem. 28, 17–23.
Wall A 1998 Peltomaan muutos metsämaaksi-metsitettyjen peltojen maan ominaisuudet, kasvillisuuden kehitys ja lajimäärä. Metsätieteen aikakauskirja 3/1998, 443–450 (in Finnish).
Wall A and Heiskanen J 1998 Physical properties of afforested former agricultural peat soils in western Finland. Suo 49, 1–12.
Wall A and Hytönen J 1996 Painomaan vaikutus metsitetyn turvepellon ravinnemääriin. Summary: Effect of mineral soil admixture on the nutrient amounts of afforested peat fields. Suo 47, 78–83.
Watson R T et al. 2000 Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry. Summary for Policymakers. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 24 p.
Whiting G J and Chanton J P 1992 Plant-dependent CH4 emission in a subarctic canadian fen. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycl. 6, 225–231. Section editor: R. Merckx
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Maljanen, M., Hytönen, J. & Martikainen, P.J. Fluxes of N2O, CH4 and CO2 on afforested boreal agricultural soils. Plant and Soil 231, 113–121 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010372914805
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010372914805